


the colours on my canvas

by sarahhhhh



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Hinata Shouyou & Yamaguchi Tadashi Friendship, Kageyama Tobio & Yamaguchi Tadashi Friendship, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Protective Kageyama Tobio, Slow Burn, Yamaguchi Tadashi is a Good Friend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:54:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25717639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahhhhh/pseuds/sarahhhhh
Summary: yamaguchi loved painting stars. in fact, it was the only thing he ever painted until he met tsukishima.there's space for a moon somewhere on his canvas, right?-[a college café AU where yamaguchi is on the verge of a mental breakdown 24/7 and tsukishima is a baker who makes a god-tier strawberry shortcake]tsukkiyama centric with mentions of daisuga and kagehina
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Past Yamaguchi Tadashi/Yachi Hitoka, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 16
Kudos: 105





	1. strawberry shortcake

“Come on, Yamaguchi…” the shorter, orange-haired boy said in a slightly whiny tone, though his twitching fingers gave away his nervousness. “I said I was sorry.”

“Shut up, dumbass.” snarled Kageyama beside him. 

“Hey!”

Tadashi let out a sigh as he trudged down the sidewalk next to his bickering friends. He stuffed his hands in his polyester jacket's pockets and played around with some spare change left, listening to the coins clink together as he took his time to respond to Hinata. 

He tilts his head and stares up at the pale blue afternoon sky that faded into a golden yellow as it neared the horizon. He breathed in the cool afternoon air as he recalled the events of today once again. 

Tadashi had nearly finished his painting for his art class when Hinata suddenly charged in and bumped into Tadashi, which resulted in a large blotch of yellow smack in the middle of his canvas.

Hinata apologized to him a million times as Tadashi stared, speechless, at his creation in dismay. A thousand sorrys definitely won’t make up for the wasted time, though Tadashi could tell that Hinata was genuinely sorry. His masterpiece in progress contained mountains with snowy cliffs with a purple and blue starry sky in the background that Tadashi spent hours working on.

“It’s fine, Hinata,” Tadashi said slowly, trying to sound as convincing as he could be. He gripped the coins tightly in his pocket. As he ran his fingers along the edges of the silver he concluded his pocket held two quarters and a dime. “Really.”

Hinata pouted, seeing right through Tadashi's act. “I’ve known you for over five years now! I know you’re still mad at me.”

“Not mad,” Tadashi muttered, his palms starting to sweat from the coins. “Even if I was, I’ll be madder at myself than you. Don’t think even about it.” he says, casually dismissing the topic.

“Fine.” Hinata said. The trio walked in awkward silence for a bit. Tadashi slipped out his hands from his pocket and was greeted by the stinging air. The sweat produced by his palms quickly evaporated after being freed by his insulating jacket pocket. There was a pause until Hinata pointed ahead of them. “Look! A café!”

“It looks like it just opened recently,” Kageyama observed as Hinata started bouncing ahead of them. "Probably before school started, or else we would've seen it before."

“Yamaguchi, you love cake, right?” Hinata questioned, casually ignoring Kageyama's comment. Not waiting for an answer, Hinata continued. “Let me get you some! Then I can accept you accepting my apology.”

Tadashi felt his stomach do a double-take at the mention of cake. He was hungry.

“You don’t have to,” Tadashi finds himself saying instead, looking down at his worn-out sneakers. He needed to get some new shoes.

“No! I want to, I _need_ to!” Hinata practically yelled. Then more quietly he added, “I’ll feel guilty if I don’t, so please.”

Tadashi glanced at the jumpy boy then at Kageyama, who shrugged his shoulders. Tadashi saw the way Kageyama's eyes glowed at the mention of food.

“Fine.” 

“Yes!” Hinata jumped up and dashed down the sidewalk, leaving Tadashi and Kageyama alone and confused.

“They better have good cake,” Tadashi groaned as Kageyama started to sprint after him, yelling after the shorter boy loudly. He quickened his pace to a jog, his feet aching with each step. Tadashi likes to paint standing up. He’d been standing for hours, and now he has to chase after his two crazy friends treating him to cake. 

Tadashi finally reached the café, he slowly pushed open the door, hearing the gentle sound of bells clinking together.

“Yamaguchi!" Hinata waved him over, standing near a table at the back of the quiet cafe. Tadashi winced at how loud he was being. "Over here!"

“You’re being too loud,” Kageyama growled, but pulled out a chair for him to sit in.

“You guys have way too much energy,” Tadashi said as Hinata bounced over and placed a slice of strawberry cake in front of him. "Quiet down, you're disturbing everyone else." 

“Ah, sorry!” Hinata apologized to the other few customers, not sounding like he was sorry at all. Tadashi bit the inside of his cheek.

Kageyama looked questioningly at Tadashi, who in return gave him a weak smile. He sat down in a chair and picked up a fork. Tadashi ignored the two pairs of eyes watching him as he scooped up a corner of the slice. Bringing it to his mouth, Tadashi could smell the fresh strawberries used. Then he took a bite.

Heaven.

Tadashi was sure if heaven could have a taste, this is what it would taste like. The fluffiness of the sponge cake went perfectly with the strawberries and layer of whipped cream. You could taste the freshness in the strawberries with each bite. Whoever made this knew what they were doing.

“So?” came Hinata’s voice, breaking Tadashi from his daydream.

"Oh, yeah, it's really good." Tadashi searched for words to describe the taste and failed. Contrary to popular belief, Hinata had great observation skills and seemed to understand what Tadashi was trying to say. A hungry gleam shone in Hinata's eyes. He was dying for another taste but pushed the dish towards Hinata. "Here you can try." 

Hinata looked unsure so Tadashi quickly plastered a convincing smile on his face and Hinata took the bait. Hinata tried describing it to Kageyama and succeeded more than Tadashi. The raven-haired male seemed to understand the 'uwahs' and 'bwahs' coming from the shorter. Tadashi watched in silence, a familiar feeling came over him. He never managed to identify what the feeling was, though it was probably his nerves acting up again.

“Glad you liked it.”

All three heads turned to the new voice. Tadashi nearly dropped his fork. In front of them, stood a tall man. He had a head full of pale blonde curls and porcelain skin. The piercing brown eyes hidden behind his glasses seemed to pierce directly into Tadashi’s soul. He was wearing an apron, which told Tadashi that he was the creator of the dish. 

Of course. Only somebody beautiful as that could create a cake as delicious as this.

“And you’re the guy who made this?” Kageyama asks, gesturing to the cake in front of Tadashi. Tadashi locked eyes with the blonde for a second, feeling his face grow warm as he lost himself in his eyes.

“Guess,” he said coolly, his soothing voice ringing in Tadashi’s ears. He switched his gaze over to Kageyama.

“Yes?” Hinata said unsurely. The man shrugged his shoulders. “That’s a yes!”

“Who are you?” Kageyama questioned, his voice rising. Tadashi sensed that Kageyama didn't like the guy. 

Tadashi felt his ears turn red as the man’s gaze rested on him once again. He stayed silent as he saw the tiny smirk appear on his face.

“Tsukishima Kei.”

\--

Kei worked at a small joint called _the Crows’ Nest_ owned by a man named Sugawara Koushi. Sugawara worked at the front desk, and his husband, Daichi Sawamura, worked with Kei in the kitchen. Daichi only worked half the week though it didn’t matter. It was an easy job. Only a few people stop by the store each day, and Kei was rather good at baking, so the bistro never needed any extra help.

It was another quiet day at work. 

Kei was busy setting cakes aside to chill when a short boy charged into the café. Loudly. The second he opened the doors to enter the shop it was like somebody just screamed in Kei’s ear.

“I need a cake!” The orange-haired boy shouted desperately, destroying the peaceful atmosphere Kei was enjoying. Kei could hear him yelling though he was in the kitchen. He felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance as he heard Sugawara try calming down the customer. “I accidentally ruined my friend’s painting, and I'm pretty sure he's mad at me!”

Tsukishima bit his tongue to keep him from making a rude remark. _'Pretty sure?'_

“Okay, okay,” Sugawara said calmly, though confusion tinted his tone. “What type of cake?”

“Uhm… any!”

“Oh, um… okay then,” Sugawara turned and shot a glance at Kei through the window. “I’m assuming you heard him.”

“Loud and clear.” Kei scoffed in annoyance. He scanned the kitchen counters until he found what he was looking for: the strawberry shortcake he had just finished a few minutes ago. Kei was good at baking, but his strawberry cakes were on another level. 

At a young age, Kei had fallen in love with the specific cake and decided to become a baker. Over the years he learned many new things about baking which increased his skill. Kei was never sure if he wanted to pursue baking as his career, but the job ended up sticking with him. He never worked well with others, so that’s why he declined many job invitations. Once a famous bakery tried to hire him, Kei declined and continued to work at the quiet _Crows’ Nest_ in content.

Kei expertly cut an even slice of shortcake and plated it. He handed it to Sugawara, who went off to give it to the jumpy boy.

The orange-haired boy was extremely short, and Kei was pretty sure he was just a kid. His unruly hair flew around. He was jumpy and loud, which irritated Kei. A lot. He wore a blue sports uniform with the number ten on the front and back of his shirt.

“Hinata!” came a loud yell as another man charged into the café. This man was much taller than the orange-haired boy, with dark black hair and piercing blue eyes. He wore the same uniform, but a number nine on his shirt instead.

“Kageyama!” the boy yelled back, making Kei’s ears hurt. He assumed the shorter man was Hinata and the taller one was Kageyama. Hinata gave out this innocent, happy and warm vibe, while Kageyama radiated this dark, angry and frightening aura. The two seemed like complete opposites. “Where’s Yamaguchi?”

“I think he’s walking here,” Kageyama said, completely unaware of Kei’s eavesdropping. Suddenly, his expression changed and he glared at the smaller boy. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“I’m sorry!” Hinata squeaked, the collar of his shirt now in Kageyama’s arms, his small legs dangling in the air. “I just wanted to get some cake for Yamaguchi! Put me down!”

Kei tuned out the rest of their bickering and pieced together the story in his head. Hinata ruined this Yamaguchi guy’s painting, so he’s treating him to some cake. Which led them to here. Kageyama seemed to be friends with both of them.

“Yamaguchi, over here!” Hinata’s loud cry snapped Kei out of his thoughts. He faintly heard Sugawara trying to tell him to quiet down, only for his voice to be drowned out.

Kei stared at the young man plodding anxiously through the café doors. Through the small window, the first thing Kei saw were freckles. A lot of them. They reminded him of the stars in his hometown.

The first thing the freckled boy did was shoot an apologetic glance at Sugawara and quieted down his friends. His tired eyes reflected that this wasn't the first time he apologized on behalf of his friends.

“You can go on a break, Tsukishima.” came Sugawara’s worn-out voice. Kei turned to look at his boss, who was staring at the three boys, a small look of dismay on his face. The respect Kei had for the café owner grew as he continued. “Those boys scared away everybody within a ten-mile radius.”

Kei nodded and went through the kitchen doors, leading out to where the three customers were sitting. Kei silently observed the duo watch their rather tired-looking friend taste the confection.

Yamaguchi had green hair. Or was it brown? Kei wasn’t quite sure, yet he found the colour intriguing. His hair was just long enough for him to tie it in a low ponytail, though there was a stray hair flying on the top of his head. Yamaguchi’s eyes were brown like Kei’s but soft and round. Unlike Kei’s pale skin, he was tan. He didn’t wear the same sports uniform that Hinata and Kageyama were wearing but instead wore a large, fuzzy gray sweater with paint splotches all over them. His faded blue jeans had numerous tears in them, one hole revealing a Disney princess band-aid on his knee.

Kei quietly listened to their conversation, taking note of the small glimmer in Yamaguchi's eyes as he tried his cake. He could tell he liked it, so it surprised him when he saw Yamaguchi give the cake to his orange-haired friend. Kei couldn't tell if Yamaguchi needed to grow a backbone for himself or he was just a selfless person. 

“Glad you liked it.” Kei found himself saying. All three heads snapped towards his direction. Kei took a step closer to the table. He locked eyes with Yamaguchi. He was close enough now to see all the freckles on his face clearly. He was pretty sure he saw the constellation of Ursa Minor near the bottom of his left cheek.

“And you’re the guy who made this?” Kageyama questions, gesturing to the cake in front of Tadashi.

“Guess,” Kei answered coolly, casually tearing away his gaze from Yamaguchi.

“Yes?” the orange-hair piped up. Kei shrugged his shoulders and bit back an eye-roll. “That’s a yes!”

“What’s your name?” Kageyama asked, eyebrows furrowed and voice rising, the protective nature over his friends showing. Yamaguchi regarded the attitude with a soft sigh while Hinata remained oblivious of Kageyama hovering behind him menacingly. 

Kei looked back at Yamaguchi and grinned. “Tsukishima Kei,” Kei stated plainly, shifting his gaze back to Kageyama. 

“You have pretty eyes.”

All heads turned to Yamaguchi, a light dust of pink visible on his tan skin. Kei raised a questioning eyebrow and couldn’t hold back a teasing smile.

“Did I say that out loud?” Yamaguchi blinked and the realization seemed to settle in. "Oh. _Shit_." 

Kei let out a small laugh at his friends’ reaction. Hinata leapt out of his chair and stared at Yamaguchi then at Kei, his eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets. Kageyama wore this priceless confused expression while Yamaguchi put his forehead on the table, though you could still see his red ears.

Everyone fell silent. 

“You made Yamaguchi swear!” Kageyama exclaimed, his loud statement sounding confused. "He never swears?"

“You broke him, you broke Yamaguchi!” Hinata hollered, pointing an accusing finger at Kei. “What was in that cake?”

Kei put up his hands after he stopped laughing.

“I didn’t do anything,” Kei grinned, looking at Yamaguchi, who had wrapped his arms around his head, his amber eyes peeking out and looking up at him. It had been a long time since Kei laughed. His voice sounded rough like it hasn't been used in a long time. 

“Tsukishima, please don’t break our customers.” 

Kei turned to see Sugawara standing behind him. Yamaguchi lifted his head to look at the new voice. Kei shrugged his shoulders and walked back into the kitchen without saying anything. He heard Sugawara apologize on his behalf as the kitchen doors closed behind him. Kei let out a small chuckle to himself.

-

Indeed what a quiet day it was. The cafe was quiet after Yamaguchi and his friends left and Tsukishima left the kitchen for a quick breather. He sees something shiny on the table Yamaguchi had sat at. Kei moved closer to inspect. It turns out it was just a small tip, the sun leaking through the windows and reflecting off the silver metal. He slips the coins off the table into his palm. Two quarters and a dime.


	2. subtle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yams is great at subway surfers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yams has art block and i have writer's block ✌️

Tadashi was panicking.

He had art block, a ruined painting and an assignment due in twelve hours. Tadashi had just finished typing up two essays for his other classes to create time for him to work on his painting. It was too late to restart so he had to work with what he had. Time was running out and Tadashi was just a tired college student who hadn’t eaten in hours.

-

A few minutes Tadashi was sitting in _the Crows’ Nest_ playing Subway Surfers on his phone. An untouched cake was plated in front of him, but Tadashi was too focused on his game to eat it yet. Tadashi ordered a different cake this time. The sun shone through the window and the glare on his phone screen made it hard to see, leading to his character’s death. He was about to put his phone down until he heard a voice.

“You’re pretty good at that,” the low voice in Tadashi’s ear spooking him. He jumped and dropped his phone and it nearly fell on the ground. Before Tadashi could react, another hand caught it before it touched the floor. The pale, slender fingers gracefully turned the phone around in its hands. Tadashi looked up in confusion and came face-to-face with the same brown eyes as yesterday. Tsukishima Kei.

“Here,” Tsukishima said, unfazed at Tadashi’s clumsiness.

“Oh! Er, thanks…” Tadashi mumbled, taking his phone. He felt his cheeks warm up as his fingers brushed against Tsukishima’s. He stared at the black screen for a few awkward moments until a notification from Kageyama lit up the screen: _Hinata and I are going to practice volleyball late. Want to join?_

Tadashi held back a sigh. His text messages with Kageyama were made up of volleyball practice invitations and polite declines with weak excuses as support. The occasion 'help with English please' message was also included. With deft fingers, Tadashi quickly typed up a polite excuse not to go and sent it. 

Looking up, he found Tsukishima still standing there.

Gosh, he’s even prettier up this close. 

Tsukishima slid into the seat across from Tadashi. “You’re back,” he commented smoothly.

“Yeah…” Tadashi said awkwardly, staring at his plate.

“Where are your friends?”

Tadashi looked up, confused. Tsukishima tilted his head slightly, his brown-eyed gaze seeming to pierce through his glasses. “You know, the loud, short guy and that other man?” Tadashi blinked.

“Oh, you mean Hinata and Kageyama!” Tadashi said, cracking a smile. “Sorry, I realized I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Tadashi Yamaguchi.”

“How’s your painting?” Tsukishima asked, startling Tadashi. He looked back, startled, as he took a bite of his cake (which tasted _delicious_ ). “Hinata barged in here yelling about how he ruined your painting or something like that.” 

Tadashi felt his face flush. He rested his cheek on his hands, embracing the cool skin pressing against his burning face. “Oh. Sorry about that. Hinata just gets… dramatic sometimes.” he offhandedly mumbled, making a mental note to scold Hinata for yelling.

“I could tell,” Tsukishima deadpanned. He sounded bored. _Am I boring you? I'm so, so sorry, I know I'm really boring to talk to!_ There was silence for a moment then he spoke up again. “Could you show me a picture?”

Tadashi blinked again. “Of… of what?” he asked dumbly.

“The painting?”

“Oh. Oh, right, sure.” Tadashi mumbled, embarrassed. With the fork still in his mouth, he unlocked his phone and opened his photo gallery. After finding the picture of his painting, he handed it to Tsukishima. “There are two pictures… kinda like a before and after I guess.”

“You do know you just handed a stranger your phone?” Tsukishima scoffed, taking Tadashi’s phone, cold fingers brushing against warm skin. Tadashi blinked again. “Unlocked?”

“Well, yeah,” Tadashi muttered, as Tsukishima looked at the screen. He saw his eyes widen when he saw his painting, and he wondered if he thought it was any good. He played with his fingers underneath the table. “But I don’t think you’ll run off with it or anything.”

“And why’s that?” Tsukishima questioned, not lifting his gaze from the screen as he swiped to the second picture.

“Because I trust you,” Tadashi said as if it was obvious. Tsukishima looked up from the phone and stared right at Tadashi, raising an eyebrow. Tadashi could've sworn that Tsukishima's eyes dropped to his lips. Tadashi felt the blush creep onto his face. “And besides, you’ll get fired or something,” he muttered.

Tsukishima let out a small chuckle at that comment. Tadashi wasn’t sure what was so funny about losing your job but beamed at the fact he made Tsukishima laugh. He passed Tadashi back his phone and Tadashi stowed it away, his heartbeat picking up its pace with any physical contact made with the blond.

“It _is_ a really nice painting,” Tsukishima commented after a pause. Tadashi felt overwhelmed at the compliment from the stranger. “I’m sure you could fix it.”

“Doubt it.” Tadashi asked mumbled, staring offhandedly out the café's windows. Tsukishima shrugged his shoulders. The silence between them was interrupted by the chime of bells announcing the arrival of a new customer.

“I have to get back to work,” Tsukishima stated, standing up. He looked at Tadashi for a moment, making Tadashi wonder if he had something on his face. “It was nice talking to you, Yamaguchi.”

Tadashi felt his heart leap out of his chest as he watched the blond disappear behind the kitchen doors. The sound of Tsukishima saying his name made him feel all giddy inside. Not only that, but he also said it was _nice_ talking to him. This means Tsukishima, the most stunning man Tadashi had ever met, had a _nice time_ talking to Tadashi, the most socially awkward guy in all of Miyagi.

“Y.. you too!” Tadashi called weakly after the baker, though he was long gone.

-

Tadashi stood in the doorway of a studio, with his painting placed on a stand in the middle of the room. 

_I’m sure you could fix it._

Tsukishima’s subtle yet encouraging words rang in Tadashi’s ear. 

“Well, you gotta start somewhere,” Tadashi sighed, putting on some music. He gingerly raised a paintbrush dipped in paint to the canvas and took a deep breath. 

Tadashi fell in love with art at a young age. When he was younger, he found the concept that with art you could create anything simply amazing. He would often draw himself, purposely leaving out his freckles and scrawniness. Tadashi ended up pursuing painting further. Whenever he picked up a brush and painted, he was instantly swept away into a world of colour. A wonderful world with just Tadashi in it, ready for him to create whatever he wanted. 

Sometimes Tadashi gets asked how he could paint so well, and he was never able to answer. He tries explaining the universe he enters when he paints, but nobody understands what he means. Tadashi didn’t blame them, he probably sounded crazy. When Tadashi paints it’s just him, the ground and sky all around him being his canvas. With his brush, he could paint _anything_ he wanted. He could stay in that bright world for hours and it’ll just feel like a few seconds. Could you even imagine a place as magical as that?

He made the first stroke. Then Tadashi was lost.

When he opened his eyes again, he was in his painting. Not quite, but that’s what it felt like. Tadashi could feel the cool breeze in the valleys he created and the coolness of the night air. Looking up you could see the stars that Tadashi had painting, twinkling. In the sky was the unmistakable splash of bright yellow. It wasn’t even a nice shade of yellow, it was one of those annoying colours where you would get a headache if you simply stared at it for too long. 

This would take a while.

-

“Yamaguchi.”

The gentle voice rang faintly in Tadashi’s ears as he felt something shake him lightly.

“Yamaguchi, wake up.”

He felt warmth on his face as his body slowly woke up. Tadashi slowly forced his eyes to open, half expecting to be laying in the grassy fields in his painting. To his slight disappointment, instead what he saw were a pair of navy blue eyes staring back at him, sunlight slightly blinding him. The pair of eyes widened and looked in the other direction.

“Hinata! He’s awake!”

Tadashi forced himself to sit up. His body ached all over as he looked around in confusion.

“What happened?” Tadashi muttered groggily. He locked eyes with the figure who had woken him. “Kageyama?”

“Yamaguchi!” Came a loud voice. Tadashi turned to find Hinata bounding towards him. Wait... this was all too familiar. The last time Tadashi remembered Hinata eagerly running towards him it had ended with a ruined painting.

“Wait! Don’t!” Tadashi practically yelled, stopping Hinata in his tracks. He looked around wildly until he found his painting safely on the stand, just as he left it. He let out a sigh of relief. “Sorry.”

“Whoa, you fixed it!” Hinata said, pointing at the painting. He grinned goofily. “It looks great! Don’t worry, I won’t go near it.”

Instead of the bright yellow, it was replaced to a paler shade of yellow, making it look like a full moon. The moon was the same shade as Tsukishima’s hair, and Tadashi couldn’t decide if that was a coincidence or not. There were darker shades used with a smaller brush to create tiny yet distinct craters in the glowing orb. The painting had turned out nicer than Tadashi had expected.

Tadashi hummed proudly in response. 

“What happened?” He repeated weakly, hoping for an answer this time. “I’m sore all over.”

“You fell asleep here,” Hinata laughed. Tadashi blinked once.

“I did?”

“Yeah, overnight,” Kageyama said. “You skipped an entire day of school, Yamaguchi. We searched all over campus to find you laying on the cold, hard floor.”

“We thought you were dead!” Hinata chimed in. Tadashi shook his head in disbelief.

“That explains why I feel so sore,” Tadashi muttered, raising a hand to massage his neck. “What time is it?”

“Uh…” Kageyama checked his phone. “Around four in the afternoon.”

Tadashi gawked. “I was asleep for that long?”

“Yep.” Hinata giggled. “You skipped your art class, you should turn in your painting before it's considered late.”

“Oh, right, thanks.” Tadashi said, smacking his forehead. He walked towards the small sink on the side of the studio and began washing himself up.

“How about we meet at that café we went to the other day?” Hinata suggested, thoughtfully. “ _The Crows’ Nest_?”

“Sure!” Tadashi agreed quickly. His friends looked surprised at how fast he agreed. Tadashi felt his face flush as he thought of an excuse for his eagerness. “Hey, I’m _hungry_.”

He said defensively.

To his relief, Kageyama shrugged his shoulders and Hinata was already bouncing out the door. It was the truth, Tadashi was famished. But part of him wanted to go back just to see the enchanting baker again.

“See you then! The last one there has to pay!”

“Wait, what? Hey, that’s unfair!”


	3. lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for the late update! School is reopening and I'm literally freaking out-

“Is he dead?”

Tadashi heard the faint murmurs around him but had chosen to ignore them instead, though the new yet familiar voice him woke up from his light slumber. Soon, a delicious smell wafted around him as he nuzzled his face into his arms and tried falling back to sleep.

“Uh, no. I don’t think so,” Tadashi identified Kageyama’s typical out-of-the-loop voice. “He’s just tired, right?”

“Right.” Hinata confirmed unsurely. Tadashi could clearly visualize the red-head confidently nodding his head despite his own uncertainty.

Tadashi heard shuffling. “ _Very_ tired, it seems.” the other voice hummed. He heard it before, yet Tadashi couldn’t remember who it belonged to. The deep undertones of the voice were lulling Tadashi back to sleep. He felt safe.

“Oh, yeah,” Hinata agreed, this time more confident. “He fell asleep in the studio working on his painting overnight!”

A low hum was the response to Hinata’s statement. Tadashi wondered who they were talking to. He should know, right? They were talking about _him_ after all.

“Are you awake?” Tadashi felt a sharp prod in the side of his stomach but didn’t react. He got poked again but couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes. 

“Wake up, Yamaguchi,” came Kageyama’s voice from the other side of him, followed by two jabs on both sides. Tadashi let out a groan and feebly wrapped his arms in a vain attempt to protect himself from the jabs. Soon, the poking turned into tickling. Tadashi clutched his sides and snapped his head up.

“Stop it!" Tadashi muttered sharply, glaring at Kageyama while rubbing his sides. "I'm awake, I'm awake.”

Hinata laughed as Tadashi rubbed away the soreness from his neck. “Finally! It was the second time today I thought you had died!”

It was then when Tadashi locked eyes with the owner of the mysterious voice, Tsukishima Kei. He was staring at him with this amused expression as if he was holding in laughter. They looked at each other for a heartbeat more until Tsukishima finally spoke.

“You got some paint on your face,” Tsukishima said, gesturing over his cheek. Tadashi blinked before mirroring him, feeling a dry splotch on his left cheek.

Tadashi felt his face flush. “Oh. Why didn’t you guys tell me?” He muttered, turning to Kageyama, who shrugged his shoulders in response.

“I didn’t even notice.”

“I guess we’re just used to you being covered in paint all the time,” Hinata said thoughtfully. “Anyways, _cake_!”

The boy declared hungrily, gesturing grandly to the plate of cake laid in front of them. Tadashi watched as his friends dug in in slight dismay before Tsukishima gave Tadashi a tap on his shoulder, startling him. 

“There’s a bathroom in the back,” Tsukishima stated plainly, pointing a porcelain thumb towards a door in the side of the shop. Tadashi mumbled a thanks and scurried away. 

-

For around a month, Tadashi would visit _the Crows’ Nest_ daily, each time ordering something different. Tsukishima got on his break around the same time Tadashi’s school ended, so the two bonded over the weeks. Tadashi learned Tsukishima’s interests and passions, every day his small crush growing and growing till Tadashi was sure it was love.

“...-The lady just ran out, yelling. Then Tsukki said...” Tadashi’s voice trailed off as Kageyama and Hinata looked back at him in confusion. The three were hanging out in the art studio, listening to the radio as Tadashi worked on another painting. 

Tadashi met their puzzled gazes. Static buzzed over the radio's old speakers since Hinata was fiddling with the buttons. “What?”

“Do… do you mean Tsukishima?” Kageyama asked. Tadashi blinked in confusion.

“Well, of course, what did I say?” Tadashi blinked again, putting down his paintbrush. Hinata burst out in laughter, earning a glare from Kageyama, though shimmers of amusement flickered in his eyes. “What’s so funny?”

“You called him _Tsukki_!” Hinata giggled, clutching his heaving sides. “Tsukki! That’s so adorable!”

“I… I did?”

“Yes!”

“Oh.” Tadashi muttered, feeling blush creep up on his neck. “ _Oh_.”

-

“You’ve called me that for a while now,” Tsukishima, or _Tsukki_ now, informed with a casual shrug of his shoulders when Tadashi retold the previous tale. “ _‘Tsukki’_ ,”

“Eh, really?...” Tadashi mumbled, looking out the window thoughtfully. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know.”

Tadashi sighed, looking down at his hands. "Is... Is that okay?" He nervously picked at the freckles splattered across the back of his hand. “I mean- are you fine with it?”

His response was another shrug. Tadashi has known Tsukki long enough to know that he didn’t mean to be rude, though sometimes he came off like that. Instead, Tadashi switched the conversation to the pastry they spoke about a few days ago. Tadashi happily listened to his new friend talk. Tsukki was a good listener, though he had a lot of things he wanted to say as well. He was easy to talk with and had this special sense of humour that Tadashi enjoyed. 

Off topic but, Tadashi had made Tsukki laugh―like a genuine, _I can’t breathe_ laugh―three times. 

Yes, he counted. 

Whenever Tsukki laughed, he covers his smile with his hands, though you could see glimpses of it through his fingers. A small dimple appears on the bottom of his left cheek, a blemish in his clear skin. His laugh was raspy and hoarse as if he hadn’t laughed in a long time, it almost hurt to hear.

Tadashi thought it was the nicest sound in the world.

\--

Kei was chatting with Sugawara and Daichi, who paid a surprise visit to his husband. 'Chatting' as in listening to Daichi talk about crime rates and his job while Sugawara cleared out the cash register, a smile visible on both their faces and nodding at appropriate times. 

Truth was, Kei couldn't be more bothered with prison policies or what-not. He was just silently observing the married couple in action. They worked well together. 

Sugawara chipped in with information he seemed to have picked up and Daichi showed his appreciation through a fond smile reserved for Sugawara's eyes only. Kei tried to ignore the part of him that longed for someone who would actively listen to him talk about his passions and enjoy them.

Over the years, Kei's reserved personality got labelled as him being a 'good listener', which was true. But, apparently, being a good listener means you have nothing to talk about. 

_That_ , as unfortunate as it is, is false. Kei does in fact have things he would like to share with someone.

Someone who would listen.

Daichi was interrupted when Hinata and Kageyama barged into the cafe, making a commotion. Sugawara went to take their orders and Daichi turned to Kei, his eyes trailing after his husband.

“Who are they?” Daichi asked. Kei shrugged his shoulders.

“Annoying.”

“That’s rude,” Daichi said in a tired voice. He gazed off after Sugawara who was talking happily with the customers. 

“The short one’s Hinata. His friend is Kageyama,” Kei said bluntly after a pause. Daichi looked surprised at the answer Kei gave, though he wasn’t quite sure why.

“What are their surnames?” Daichi asked. Kei shrugged his shoulders, turned heel and disappeared into the kitchen. He prepared their orders and was about to hand them to Sugawara when the bell chimed again and Tadashi Yamaguchi walked in. 

Kei watched through the window as Yamaguchi plopped down next to his friends and laid his head on his arms. He looked exhausted.

Kei turned and handed Sugawara their plates, where he responded with, “Thanks Tsukishima, you can go on your break now.”

Soon, Kei found himself staring down at Yamaguchi, who seemed to be fast asleep.

“Is he dead?” Kei mused.

“Uh, no. I don’t think so… He’s just tired, right?” Kageyama said worriedly, turning to Hinata. He learned that Yamaguchi fell asleep in an art studio overnight, fixing his painting. Kei watched in silent amusement as the two proceeded to tickle their friend until he woke up.

Finally, Yamaguchi sat up and cried, “Stop it! I'm awake, I'm awake.”

Kei noticed a streak of pale yellow paint across the freckled skin and the urge to laugh increased. All three of them seemed completely oblivious to the paint on Yamaguchi’s face, making the situation even funnier to him. Frankly, Kei thought it was cute. Being covered in paint seemed to be normal for Yamaguchi.

He looked like an anxious kid, and some confidence could do him good. Being surrounded by colour and having the power to create anything he wanted, there was no wonder Yamaguchi loved to paint. 

“Can I see the painting?” Kei asked after Yamaguchi went to the bathroom. Hinata was scarfing down his cake, though Kageyama gave him a shrug.

“Sure,” Kageyama said, taking out his phone. “I took a picture of it before we left.”

“Why?”

“In case you ruined it again, dumbass.”

Kei scoffed at the shock that appeared on the redhead’s face. “You’re so rude! Bakayama!”

Kageyama shrugged. “You asked.” He held up his phone for Kei to see.

It was the same painting, but at the same time, it wasn’t.

The sky now housed a shining moon in the center, floating above snowy peaks belonging to the mountains Yamaguchi had created. Stars littered the canvas, each being purposefully placed, forming clusters and reminding Kei of Yamaguchi’s freckles. For a brief, brief moment, Kei wondered if Yamaguchi put too many stars. Then he shook himself.

There can never be too many stars.

-

Kei’s good at lying. It was something he could do easily his whole life.

Kei can ride a motorcycle. He has a younger sister who he loves very much. He is a retired veteran. His favourite food is mapo tofu. He likes hot-blooded people. He has a lot of friends. Kei tries to do his best in everything. He wants to quit his job. He’s nice to everybody he meets. Kei doesn’t look forward to Yamaguchi’s daily visits. He finds Yamaguchi annoying. He prefers it when Yamaguchi comes with Hinata and Kageyama. He’d rather rang out with Hinata and Kageyama than Yamaguchi. He finds Yamaguchi’s freckles weird. He _definitely_ doesn’t think about Yamaguchi more than he should. 

And Kei most certainly did not fall in love with Tadashi Yamaguchi.

See?

He’s great at lying.


	4. english

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This counts as a study date. Right?

“What? No―I _swear_ , Kageyama,” Tadashi said looking at Kageyama’s English homework. “You’re frying my brain, it’s not _die_ die, it’s _dice_ die.” He paused. “ _Right_?”

“It’s dice,” A voice confirmed from behind Tadashi.

“Exactly! Thank you,” Tadashi sighed relieved. He looked at Kageyama’s next answer and sighed. “Where the hell did you get _katana_ from?”

Kageyama shrugged his shoulders. Tadashi shook his head and passed back Kageyama’s paper. English definitely wasn’t his strong suit, but out of all three of them, he was, theoretically speaking, the best at it. Hinata laughed and slid his paper over to Tadashi.

“Look at mine!”

Tadashi stared blankly at the redhead’s. “Hinata, this isn’t even Japanese.”

In the empty spaces where the English definition was supposed to be, instead were drawings. Some of the drawings didn’t even relate to the word, or maybe they did and it was Tadashi’s answers that were wrong.

“You’ve all fried my brain, congratulations.” Tadashi slumped over the table and buried his face in his arms.

“Yamaguchi, it’s the third time this month you’ve died.” Hinata mused, recalling their memories while grabbing back his homework.

“The cause of all of my deaths is you,” Tadashi muttered, twirling his pencil in his other hand.

“How about me?” Kageyama asked, drawing an angry face on his thumb with a marker. Tadashi stopped spinning the pencil and poked Kageyama’s half-empty milk carton with the end of it.

“And you.” He sighed, defeated. Kageyama takes his milk carton and drinks it with a smug look of pride.

“And me?”

Tadashi drops the pencil. He turns his head to see Tsukki standing behind him. After staring at white and black pages of nonsense and English, Tsukishima Kei was a sight for sore eyes.

_Especially you_.

“When did you even get here?” Tadashi asks instead, giving him a tired grin.

“Who do you think answered your question?” Tsukki fires back. Tadashi turns back in his seat and pauses to think.

“A nice stranger who happens to be good at English and willing to help three hopeless students graduate.”

Tsukki gives a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. “Sorry to disappoint,”

_You could never disappoint me_.

Suddenly, Tadashi had an idea. Like, one of those ideas that can either change your life for good or ruin it. It was a risk he was willing to take since the sight of Tsukishima Kei seemed to have given him an endless amount of confidence.

“Tsukki, you’re smart, right?”

“I’m sorry?” Tsukki asks in confusion as Tadashi turns back to him with shining eyes. His brain seems to figure out what Tadashi’s trying to say since his next words are, “Absolutely not.”

“I didn’t even say anything yet!”

“No.” Tadashi frowned. Having Tsukki help them in English would be a huge relief and will probably save them a lot of time.

“Why not?”

“You seem to be doing just fine by yourselves,” Tsukki answers, and the way he looks at Hinata and Kageyama seems to say ‘ _there’s no way I’d help them_ ’.

“Not really,” Hinata confesses with a frown. Then he shakes his head aggressively, declaring, “But I’d rather give up volleyball than get Saltyshima to teach us.”

Kageyama solemnly nodded his agreement. Tadashi sighed, “Well, I’d rather graduate with a GPA higher than three, thanks.”

“Help them, Tsukishima!” Sugawara called from the front counter. Tsukki turns around. “Daichi can help in the kitchen while you teach them.”

“Whose side are you on?”

Sugawara grinned mischievously, his eyes shining. “Theirs.”

“It’s still no,” Tsukki says, but before he could walk away Tadashi got up and grabbed his hands.

“Please?”

Tsukki looks at him for a long time then turns away. Tadashi wonders what is going on in his mind and is about to admit defeat until he lets out a sigh and looks back.

“...Fine.”

\--

“You guys are idiots.”

Kei said for the third time that day. Yamaguchi let out a tiny snicker at the face Kageyama made.

He had his mind made up and was about to return to the security of his kitchen when Yamaguchi grabbed his hand then everything went spiralling out of control and he agreed before he could even process it.

The smile Yamaguchi gave him after he agreed simply made Kei’s heart melt and the memory of it made this entire situation somewhat bearable.

Kageyama refused to ask for any help (not that Kei wanted to help him anyway), and whenever he got an answer wrong he thought of it as rejecting Kei’s help while in reality, he was making a fool of himself. The deathly glares he sent to Kei whenever he got told he was wrong was as intimidating as it was amusing.

Hinata was probably one of the dumbest people Kei had ever met. He constantly asked for answers instead of even trying to think it out, and when he did try actually using his brain it made no difference. Hinata thinks using his body, his mindless mumbling and foot-tapping driving Kei crazy.

Yamaguchi was like Kageyama in a way, and only asked Kei when he was stuck. He subconsciously twirls his pencil while he’s thinking and got distracted easily. An airplane would fly by and Yamaguchi would stare at it through the window even after it flew away. Distractions aside, Yamaguchi was the only person Kei was somewhat willing to help with his work.

“Shut up!” Hinata groaned. “Teaching and insulting are different things, you know?”

“I'm honest in my teachings.”

Kageyama snickers and Hinata glares back. Yamaguchi looks up from his paper and flashes them a lopsided grin. “Kageyama, you’re not any better than him.”

This time it’s Kageyama’s turn to glare. “You’re one to talk.”

Yamaguchi sticks his tongue out at him and goes back to his work, unlike Hinata who started pestering Kageyama about volleyball.

Kei watches their playful exchange and wonders when was the last time he had a friend of his own to joke around with. Probably never, since he normally pushed away anyone who tried befriending him. 

Having said that, how did Kei find himself tutoring three people he knew for barely a month? 

This entire situation is stupid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how their actual homework would be like-  
> also tsukishima probably attends online college or something i didn't really work that out yet
> 
> the chapter limit is just a guess on how long i think this fic will be, because i finally sorted out the plot for this and hopefully i could actually write down my ideas instead of having them just float in my head for weeks
> 
> also thank you for all the support!! have a good day and stay safe out there <3

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me at nighttime and it took me three days to write the first chapter so I really hope you enjoy! 
> 
> I have some writer's block at the moment, and I'm still currently working on my demons series.


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